


You Brought Me Your Love

by dearly_beloved



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Frank is so angsty, M/M, Vampires, gerard is such an ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:54:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25779274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearly_beloved/pseuds/dearly_beloved
Summary: Frank is just a teenager in a poor area - neglected, bullied, and mostly ignored.  He wants something more out of life... and begins to realize he might find it with the arrival of an eccentric new student named Gerard.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Frank Iero/Pete Wentz, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz
Comments: 36
Kudos: 46





	1. Teenage Dirtbag, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited because this is the first chapter I've posted in over a year!! Life has been so crazy and I had writer's block for a while. I just couldn't decide on a story idea to stick with. But I've finally buckled down on this one and I'm so happy to be putting stuff out here again. I hope you enjoy!

The first day of Junior year was the day that Frank first laid eyes on him. 

It was period one, algebra. Frank felt the exhaustion pulling at his eyelids as he stumbled into the bland classroom along with the crowd of other students. It would take him weeks to get used to waking up this early, after the three months of Summer, living with no obligations. His eyes scanned over the small wooden desks all in a row, and the eager looking bald man at the head of the classroom who must be their teacher. It would be Frank’s second time taking algebra 1, since he failed the last two years. And he really didn’t plan on trying any harder to pass this year. 

Frank kept his eyes cast downward as he headed straight to the back of the classroom. It appeared there were no assigned seats in this class, at least not yet, which he was incredibly thankful for. When Frank reached a seat at the back row, he threw his backpack down at his feet and plopped down at the desk. He tried to be as quiet and invisible as possible, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He’d rather go unnoticed this year, than deal with all the assholes at his school. 

Slowly, more students began to file in. Frank knew most of them and didn’t remember the majority of them very fondly. He had one or two friends at the school, if you could even call them that. They were just people who seemed to tolerate him, who he’d talk to at lunch sometimes. But that was about it. He’d never had any close friends here or belonged to a group. He was used to it by now. 

There was one person though, who caught Frank’s attention as soon as he walked through the door. For one, Frank had never seen him before. And he definitely would have noticed him before if he had. He was quite an attention-catching person. 

He was the new kid. Pale as hell, with shoulder length, jet black hair, donning a leather jacket and baggy dark denim jeans. Frank glanced to the side as the guy headed straight to the back row as well, and then sat down right next to Frank. He noticed that other people were staring, too. The guy was pretty damn noticeable, after all. He had sort of a goth thing going on but held his head high in an unashamed manner. As if he was saying, ‘ _go ahead and stare, see if I care what you think_ _’._ Frank was intrigued and had to admit he was a bit envious. He wished he could pull that off, his look was much more subtle and yet he got made fun of for it regardless. 

The new kid looked like he listened to the same music as Frank and liked the same sorts of things. Frank hoped that was true. He even kind of wanted to talk to him, which was a rarity for Frank. But it was as if Frank’s mouth was sewn shut. There was something about him that was a bit intimidating. Frank couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

Once everyone was settled and the bell rang, the teacher stood up to address the class. 

“Hi everyone, and welcome to Algebra 1!” the man said excitedly. “My name’s Mr. Greer, and to start off, I’ll call role, and I want each of you to say ‘here’ and tell us a fun fact about yourself when I call your name.” 

Frank scoffed. A large portion of the class were similarly held-back kids who already knew each other. He guessed it might be slightly more beneficial to the freshmen, though. And he had to admit he was curious to know the name and ‘fun fact’ of the new guy sitting next to him. 

Frank’s name was called after a short while. For his fun fact he simply said that he plays guitar. Some of his classmates chuckled at this, and Frank felt his face heating up. They basically thought he wasn’t cool enough to have a cool hobby. He knew that in their eyes, he couldn’t succeed at anything. But Frank would prove them all wrong in the future, once he got out of this shithole school in this shithole city and actually did something with his life. 

A little while later, the teacher read the name ‘Gerard Way’, and Frank just _knew_. The name was so unfamiliar, and so fitting for the new kid. 

“Here,” said Gerard from beside him, sure enough. His voice was a bit nasally, and kind of high for a guy’s voice. 

“And what’s your fun fact, Gerard?” 

“Hm,” said Gerard, scratching his chin and pretending to be lost in thought for a moment, “My fun fact is that I can’t wait for this class to be over.” 

A ripple of laughter went through the classroom as Gerard smirked proudly from his seat. Mr. Greer rolled his eyes. 

“Thanks for your input, Gerard. Okay, next, Tobey Weston?” 

Frank zoned out for the rest of the introductions. He pulled out a notebook from his backpack and started doodling aimlessly while the teacher droned on about the syllabus, and all the ‘exciting’ math they would learn that year. ‘ _Maybe some of the class will learn it, but I sure as hell won’t_ _’_ , thought Frank. He’d been determined to do absolutely nothing in school for the past few years. Ever since he’d listened to his first Misfits CD and gotten a cheap guitar for his birthday when he was 12, he knew that being in a rock band was all he wanted to do. things like school were just a waste of his time. He’d much rather be at home playing guitar right now. 

Frank continued to draw in his notebook, also taking time to scribble down lyrics from some of his favorite songs, just to pass the time. He noticed through his peripheral vision that Gerard seemed pretty antsy next to him. He kept bouncing his leg rapidly, tapping the desk with his pen, and glancing around the room like he was extremely irritated and bored out of his mind. Sure, Frank was bored as well, but he had to admit that Gerard was starting to get on his nerves. Maybe he was confident and could get a laugh out of the other kids, but something about him seemed off as well. 

It was about halfway through the class when Frank’s short period of peace was broken. Someone snatched his notebook off his desk, right from beneath his hands. He sighed, knowing the torment was about to start. He was wrong to assume he could go unnoticed this year. He raised his eyes to see Tyler looming over him, reading the notebook he’d just stolen from Frank. 

“What’s this?” He sneered, his eyes scanning over the page before he seemed to find something, he could ridicule Frank for. “ _What else could I say, everyone is gay?”_

That one line from the Nirvana song, Frank thought. He almost rolled his eyes, knowing exactly how it’d be misconstrued. 

“Wow Frank, are you saying you’re fucking gay?” Tyler jabbed at him, his voice barely above a whisper so the teacher didn’t notice. The rest of the class was chatting idly, drowning him out. But his friends were gathered around at their own desks, laughing along with him. 

Frank felt his face heat up, angry at the simple phrase being taken so out of context. ” I- uh- well- it-it's lyrics to a song, stop-” 

“Whatever, faggot,” Tyler scoffed, throwing the notebook on the floor next to Frank’s desk so he’d have to bend over to pick it up. “You’re fucking weird.” 

“Yeah, I heard he sucked Pete’s dick in the locker room last year,” chided Josh, Tyler’s right-hand man. “All he does on his free time is suck dick, maybe that should’ve been your fun fact, Frank.” 

This drew more laughter from their friends, one of them miming a blowjob with his hand and his tongue poking at the inside of his cheek, “Yeah, that’s what Frank’s does after school.” 

Frank kept his eyes fixated on his desk, trembling slightly with anger, clenching his fists involuntarily. He knew he shouldn’t speak back to them. It always resulted in worse taunting. They wanted a reaction. But even when he kept quiet, they would just keep on trying. He just had to wait it out, begging for the fucking bell to ring already- 

“Tyler... is it?” Suddenly, all of the boys stopped laughing. Frank startled, looking up to realize it was Gerard who’d spoken up from next to him. 

“What the hell do you want? You look like a faggot also.” said Tyler. A few other kids laughed along. Gerard didn’t react, simply staring Tyler down coolly. 

“Well, if we’re playing this game, you look like a pathetic virgin who could only dream of getting your dick sucked. Those off-brand Adidas and gay jokes haven’t gotten you far, huh?” Gerard deadpanned. 

“Oooooooooo!” called out a few of Tyler’s friends, some of them daring to break out in laughter. Tyler looked infuriated. 

“Shut up you fucking-” 

“TYLER!” Tyler froze as Mr. Greer yelled, cutting him off. He and his friends shut up and faced the front of the classroom. 

Mr. Greer stared down Tyler and his friends. “We don’t want a repeat of last year, do we? This is only the _first_ day of school, and I expect you to at least _try_ to behave. Take this as a warning.” 

Tyler looked like he was ready to burst from his anger as Mr. Greer continued teaching the class as if nothing had happened. Frank had to bite back his laughter. He glanced over to Gerard, wanting to thank him or something, but Gerard was instead engrossed in a sketchbook he was drawing in. Had he been defending Frank back there? And now, he was suddenly pointedly ignoring him? Yes, he was very odd, for sure. 

About ten minutes after that whole ordeal, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. 

“Alright guys, please hand in your completed worksheets to me as you leave!” Said Mr. Greer. _Oh god, here we go_ , thought Frank. 

He hadn’t done any of the worksheet. Of course, he hadn’t done any of the worksheet. All he’d done is scribble in his notebook and copy down song lyrics. And wonder what was up with the new guy. That was just about it. 

So, Frank just threw everything into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, hoping he could exit the class inconspicuously. He blended into a thick crowd of students, attempting to make it out the door unnoticed. Mr. Greer was smiling and thanking the students who handed him the worksheets as they walked by, and Frank walked right past him casually. He was almost there, and it seemed like he’d gotten away with it- 

“Hey, Frank, right?” Frank stopped in his tracks, inwardly groaning when he heard the teacher call out his name. He turned around slowly and walked back to face him. 

“Uh, yeah, what is it?” Asked Frank, playing dumb. 

“Frank, I’m not stupid. Why didn’t you do your worksheet? It’s not even math, just a little questionnaire so I can get to know you guys.” 

Frank’s eyes were cast off to the side, watching Tyler and his friends chuckle at him as they tossed their papers into the pile and shoved past him. He wasn’t sure why, but he looked for Gerard. He was nowhere to be seen. He’d already left, Frank guessed. 

“Frank?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah...” Frank sighed and looked down at his feet, pondering an excuse, “I don’t know, I just... couldn’t focus.” 

“Well, I know you have to get to your next class, so I’ll tell you what. You still have your paper, right?” 

Frank nodded. 

“You can come finish it here at lunch, or bring it to me tomorrow, okay? But I’ll have to take five points off. The councilors, well... they told me you’ve been struggling with your classes in the past. But I have faith that you can turn it around this year. So, deal?” Mr. Greer looked so genuinely hopeful when he smiled down at Frank. Frank thought about how disappointed he’d be once he soon realized Frank has zero intentions of ever ‘turning it around’. 

“Yeah, deal,” Frank lied, turning without another word to walk out the door. 

He was never gonna do that stupid questionnaire. 

He’d barely left the room when he tripped over something and fell to the floor. 

He thankfully caught himself before face planting, and then turned to sit up. He looked up to face the looming figures of Tyler, Josh and a few of their other friends. Tyler looked _pissed._ Frank knew this was because Gerard had owned him in front of his friends. But now Gerard was nowhere to be seen, and Tyler had to take it out on someone. 

“You need to tell your faggot boyfriend to keep his mouth shut, or we’ll beat the shit out of both of you after school,” Tyler growled. Jeez, Frank had hardly ever seen him this angry. Gerard must have really struck a chord with the virgin comment. 

“I don’t even know him, but yeah, sure, fine,” Frank muttered, rising to his feet. 

Josh stepped in front of Frank, blocking his escape and getting way up in his personal space, glowering down at the smaller boy. “We mean it.” 

Frank nodded, as the crowd parted to let him go. Without a word, he hurried off to second period English. He hoped that Gerard didn’t end up with a target on his back for defending him. If he even _had_ been defending him . He hadn’t really said much until Tyler had insulted _him_. Either way, at least it seemed like he could hold his own. With words. But Frank wasn’t sure how well he’d do in a fight. 

The next three classes went by uneventfully. Each one, Frank spent similarly, staring off into space or doodling pointlessly in his notebook. He hated being back in school. But he wasn’t sure what he hated worse – school or being at home all day. He wished he could be at Ray’s house, his only real friend. Frank liked Ray’s family more than his mom. But he was a few years older than Frank, so clearly, he wasn’t in high school anymore. At school, Frank only had himself. 

And the loneliness was painful at times. Incredibly painful, especially when it became lunch hour, and all the other kids rushed excitedly to the courtyard, glad to have a break to eat and hang out with their friends. 

Frank didn’t enjoy lunch more than any other time of the day. He did think it was nice that he wasn’t expected to do any work. But it sucked not having anyone to sit with. 

And also, he rarely had any food. There wasn’t usually much food at home, and he couldn’t afford to get it from the cafeteria. So, during lunch he pretty much just sat against a wall away from the other students and scrawled more song lyrics into his notebook. The one benefit of lunch was that the other kids kept their distance. So, Frank tried writing out his own lyrics, rather than just copying down Nirvana songs or whatever. 

But just as he was about to sit down at the usual wall, he spied someone across the courtyard, similarly alone and sat in the shade of an overhang. Gerard. 

Gerard didn’t have any food either. He and Frank weren’t the only ones, by any means. They lived in an impoverished area, so there were always a few students without lunches. Most of them could share with their friends, though. But the losers like Frank who had no friends were out of luck. 

Frank wondered if Gerard had struggles like him too. Where did he move here from? Was he poor, lonely, bullied just like Frank? Why did he defend Frank back in that classroom? 

Frank felt anxiety bubbling in his chest at the thought, but he knew he had to try to talk to Gerard. He really wanted to. God, it was so dumb that he was so scared of simply trying to make a friend. But he kept reminding himself over and over that Gerard seemed very similar to him. And if he didn’t try, he could never succeed. 

So, after building up the courage for a few minutes, Frank walked over to Gerard. The walk across the courtyard felt like forever. 

Gerard was sat in an isolated area as well. His eyes fell on Frank emotionlessly as the other boy neared him, like he was sizing him up. Frank swallowed nervously, already feeling a bit uncomfortable. Gerard didn’t look very friendly. 

“What do you want?” He asked as Frank neared. About three feet away, Frank stopped in his tracks. 

“Oh, uh, well, I just kinda wanted to thank you, for what you did earlier in math...” Frank said, hoping he didn’t sound too awkward and pathetic. 

“What do you mean?” Asked Gerard, tilting his head to the side. Frank swore he saw the corner of his mouth twitch into the slightest of smiles. But it could have been a trick of the light. 

“Um... y-you know, like how you defended me, against Tyler and them...” 

Gerard scoffed, a smirk still evident on his face, “Who says I was defending you?” 

Frank sighed. Gerard _had_ spoken up at first though, didn’t he? Before Tyler had even insulted him? Why else would he have done so? 

“Then what _were_ you gonna say, before Tyler called you a fag?” Frank snapped. 

This interaction was going great. 

Gerard simply stared blankly into Frank’s eyes, seeming to contemplate his next words. 

“You got me there,” he said, shrugging. “I was planning on asking him what he’s trying to compensate for. You know that’s all they’re doing, right? He’s got some shit going on, so he takes it out on people like you to feel better.” 

“That doesn’t make it right,” said Frank, continuing to grow angry. He’d heard that excuse throughout his life, from the school administration, time and time again. They always made excuses for his bullies. ‘ _But his dad’s in jail!’ ‘But her parents just got a divorce!_ _’._ _Tough shit,_ thought Frank, every time. His home life was shit too, and yet he wasn’t taking it out on anyone else. 

“I never said it’s right,” said Gerard, “All I mean by that is, they’re just some pathetic kids, pretending they’re better than you in order to feel bigger in their own insignificant lives. And sometimes people like them should be put in their place.” 

Frank didn’t know how to respond to that. He guessed Gerard was right. 

“But that’s all the advice I have to give,” said Gerard, as if Frank had come over looking for ‘advice’ in the first place. “I’m not here to make any friends. I’ll see you in class, Frank. But I need to talk to my brother now.” 

_Brother_ _?_ Frank nearly jumped out of his skin as he suddenly noticed someone standing right next to him. The guy had practically appeared out of thin air. He did look somewhat similar to Gerard, with his hazel eyes and pale skin. He looked very young though, small and thin, with more angular features. Probably a freshman. He gave Frank a subtle nod but didn’t say anything. 

Feeling shame course through him at Gerard’s rejection as he glanced back down into Gerard’s cold and emotionless eyes, Frank backed off. He muttered, “Okay, see you around I guess,” and turned to walk away. As Frank trekked back across the courtyard, he felt himself trembling with anger again. The one opportunity he’d had to make a friend, and even Gerard didn’t want his company. 

At least it seemed like Gerard didn’t want _anyone’s_ company, other than his brother, for some reason. So, Frank guessed, at least it wasn’t personal. The two brothers were definitely pretty weird. 

“Hey! Frank, hey!” 

Frank turned his head when he heard a different voice calling out to him, and saw none other than Pete Wentz jogging towards him from across the lawn. 

Pete was Frank’s ‘friend’. Frank didn’t know if he could consider him an actual friend. For some reason, the somewhat popular guy who was a year older than Frank had taken an interest in him late last year. But really, Pete was confusing to Frank. He was in a niche crowd of musicians and played bass in a band, too. Frank wasn’t cool enough to hang out with them. But for some reason, Pete would go out of his way to talk to Frank. He didn’t attempt to include him with any of his other friends, actively making sure to keep them apart. Frank guessed that made sense. Unfortunately, Pete was probably ashamed to be hanging out with him. 

This was very off and on, though. Sometimes, Pete would ignore Frank for weeks. Other times, he insisted on always walking home with him, and would show him cool places around the city. Frank often wondered what his angle was and knew he couldn’t trust him. Pete’s actions often just didn’t make sense. But it was still nice to have some company, at least one person at the school who didn’t seem to get off on putting Frank down or ignore him completely. So, Frank put up with him regardless. 

“How’s your first day going?” Pete asked, walking next to Frank. 

Frank shrugged, “Shitty as always.” 

“Yeah, that’s high school for ya,” Pete said. He paused briefly. “So, what do you think of the new guy, Gerard?” 

Frank nearly stopped in his tracks. It was kinda weird that Pete was asking about him. Maybe it was because Gerard was pretty unique, and after all Frank had just been talking to him. 

“Oh, uh, he’s alright, I guess. Kinda weird. I tried talking to him, but I don’t really think he likes me... I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” 

“Oh, c’mon Frank,” said Pete, slinging an arm over his shoulder, “Everyone should like you!” 

Frank rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but they don’t.” 

Pete laughed, “Oh, Frank. So, anyways, I have a proposition for you.” 

“What?” 

Pete smiled devilishly, raising his eyebrows, “Wanna ditch sixth period on the first day of school?” 

Frank smiled. Now he was talking. 

“Absolutely.” 


	2. XO

The school was big. So big, that most students who ditched class could go relatively unnoticed. The staff would often do sweeps of the school to try to catch any stragglers. But there were a few places one could go, where they wouldn’t get caught.

The massive stands of bleachers bordering the football field was one of these places. Many sports practices, including football, would take place during fifth and sixth period. There were usually some students scattered across the expansive bleachers, and the coaches and players alike ignored them completely. The coaches only cared about the team winning, it was none of their concern if other students wanted to ditch class within their view.

Pete and Frank walked underneath the bleachers and through the large opening that led onto the lowest steps, passing through the entrance to climb the stairs themselves. It took about a minute to reach the top of the stands, the massive structure being at least a hundred feet high. The two of them reached nearly the back row, and then turned to sit and take in the view. The jocks all looked like tiny ants from up there. Football games were the biggest events that took place at the huge school, so the bleachers were big enough to sit thousands, the same size of the bleachers at many small colleges.

Since it was only the first day of school, there weren’t many other kids ditching. There was only one other pair on the bleachers, all the way at the other end, so that Frank could hardly even see them. He let out a sigh of relief as a cool breeze swept through the air, ruffling his hair slightly and cooling down the sweat he’d broken out in while climbing the steps in the heat of early September.

Despite his subtle distrust for Pete, he liked spending time with him enough. They did share one important thing, which was a passion for music. Pete talked to Frank about being in a band and was always giving him tips and advice about it. Frank was willing to take all the advice he could get. And it was clear that Pete truly did believe in Frank, although he didn’t want to be associated with him due to his reputation. He’d seen Frank play guitar and new he could play. And he would always assure Frank that as soon as he was out of high school and away from his reputation, he’d have a real chance in the scene.

For a little while, Pete worked with Frank on the lyrics the younger of the two had been scrawling in his notebook, setting aside judgement to help with the organization of the songs, and with the specific wording and tempo that would work. Frank learned that Pete wrote most of the lyrics for his band, despite being the bassist.

In turn, Frank was busy teaching Pete how to roll a perfect joint. Which was difficult, considering they had no weed, and nothing but notebook paper to work with for reference. It was a disaster but was funny enough as Frank still struggled to try to teach Pete how to get it down.

At one moment, Pete paused suddenly, catching Frank’s eye with an odd hint of desire in his gaze.

“Have you ever kissed anyone, Frank?” he asked bluntly.

Frank paused, completely caught off guard. Pete tended to do this sometimes – ask these sorts of questions that came out of left field.

“Uh, no,” said Frank, blushing and feeling a bit ashamed of himself, as he laughed awkwardly. Pete had known of him since he was a freshman, and knew how much of a loser he was, so he had already known the answer.

“I think that’s a shame,” Pete continued, sitting up straighter from where he’d been crouched over the notebook paper on the bleacher. “I mean, you’re plenty good-looking. I’m shocked that some girl hasn’t fallen head-over-heels for you by now.”

Frank’s blush deepened, his face heating up. Was Pete really complimenting him? On his appearance? This was the kind of stuff that messed with Frank’s head. He didn’t know what Pete was getting at, he never truly knew.

People often spread rumors that Pete was gay, due to his straightened black hair and the eyeliner he’d occasionally smudge on. But Pete had multiple girlfriends throughout high school, which proved the theory wrong easily in Frank’s eyes.

“Well, um, I don’t think the girls see it that way,” Frank laughed. If it was true that he was so attractive, then everyone else on the planet must be blind.

“I’m serious,” said Pete, smiling sweetly, and scooting closer. Frank’s heartrate sped up, his mind rushing to understand what was happening. “It’s all social stigma, Frank. You’re  _ hot _ , and they just don’t see it because you  _ used to _ be ugly, and you have a bad rep. But I’m sure there’s so many girls secretly pining after you and... guys, too.”

“Um, thanks?” said Frank, growing nervous. Pete was so close now, his brown eyes boring into Frank’s, only inches from his face. Was the other boy  _ hitting on him _ ? Frank’s brain was going into overload with the sudden realization. It couldn’t be...

But suddenly, before Frank could react, Pete’s hand was wrapped softly around the back of his neck, and his lips were pressed against Frank’s own.

Frank didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t push Pete away. In that moment, he didn’t want to. His brain was short-circuiting. It felt good. His mind rushed to Pete – he was attractive, from his fit body, to his wide and genuine smile, and that devilish glint he always got in his eyes. Frank had no idea what he was doing. He’d truly never kissed anyone before, and he could hardly believe  _ this  _ was how his first kiss would go. With a  _ guy _ , hell, wasn’t he straight?

But when he felt Pete’s lips move slowly against his own, opening slightly to beckon Frank forward, he couldn’t resist. His lips moved along with Pete’s sloppily, not sure what he was doing, but deciding to give it a chance. Pete’s lips parted just enough to swipe his tongue along Frank’s lower lip, and Frank inwardly swooned, pressing forward one more time before Pete abruptly pulled away.

“Not bad for a beginner,” Pete said, grinning.

Frank’s heart was racing, and his face must have been completely red by now. What the hell just happened?

“Pete...” he said, feeling shell-shocked, “What... Pete, I’m not sure if I’m...”

“I get it, you think you’re straight,” said Pete, the cheeky grin ever-present on his face. “I can tell you aren’t, though, just from the way you’ve always looked at me. You can’t hide it! And I’m not too straight either, if I haven’t just made that clear.”

“But - what about all the girlfriends?” asked Frank.

“Well, I’m bisexual, but I kinda have to keep the gay part secret, you know. I don’t know if you’ve noticed the way people feel about gays at this school,” Pete shrugged.

“I just... I don’t know, Pete...” said Frank, his heart still pounding in his chest. “I don’t... I don’t think I’m gay. I like girls! You just kissed me, and I’ve never kissed anyone, and I didn’t know what to do!”

“Oh, calm down, Frank,” Pete scoffed, “If you weren’t into guys you would’ve pushed me away, not kissed me back.”

Frank pulled away, huffing and standing up to walk away, to the very top of the bleachers. He needed to think. Just a few feet away from Pete’s suffocating presence, and those convincing puppy-dog eyes he gave Frank whenever the other boy wanted some space. Reaching the very top of the bleachers, Frank leaned against the railing, looking down over the campus laid out beneath him. He saw a few groups of students milling about below the bleachers or walking around nearby. He felt a sweat break out on the back of his neck.

Even though they were all so far away, they could’ve looked up and seen, couldn’t they? Frank was really starting to freak out. What would he do if they had seen? His reputation would be  _ ruined!  _ Well, even more ruined than it already was! He already got taunted for being ‘gay’ when there was no evidence! He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Tyler or one of his friends had seen...

“Frank! Just calm down, it’s not a big deal. It’s just a kiss, okay?”

It was Pete again, of course. Running up to stand right next to him. He threw his arm over Frank’s shoulders like he often did, but this time Frank pushed him away.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, Pete,” Frank mumbled. “I didn’t expect it! You should’ve asked! And now I, fuck-” Frank put his face in his hands, a plethora of emotions overcoming him, “I-I don’t know what to do. I can’t do this. Someone could have  _ seen _ , Pete! Fuck!”

Pete was no longer smiling. He even looked a little bit upset and concerned. “Oh, c’mon, Frank, no one saw... come on, let’s just get out of here and-”

“No,” interrupted Frank, “ _ I’m  _ getting out of here. See you around.”

Trembling slightly, Frank walked back down the few steps to the bench they’d been sat at previously, gathering his things and quickly throwing them all in his bag. He grabbed his backpack and quickly descended the steps back down the bleachers, leaving a disgruntled Pete in his dust.

It wasn’t too long of a walk, along the edge of the football field and out the back gate of the campus. The field was expansive and although practice was going on, the coaches and players really didn’t pay attention to anything else. Frank was glancing around, paranoid that someone had seen him and Pete. But luckily, the football players seemed completely invested in practice. And plus, from here, when Frank looked back up to the bleachers, the other students left behind were completely unrecognizable in the distance.

He noticed that Pete was also gone.

When he finally escaped the school campus, Frank walked hurriedly along the street. Now he’d be missing his last two classes of the day. He was fine with that, of course. The school always called the parents of a student who went missing from class. That didn’t matter to Frank, because his mom was hardly ever home and she didn’t even care, as long as Frank faked a note from her explaining his absence to the school, so she didn’t get in trouble for it.

Frank wondered where he should go. He knew he couldn’t go home. If his mom wasn’t there, it would be fine. But if she was there, it would be a disaster. And she’d been there when Frank had left for school in the morning. Although she didn’t  _ really  _ care about Frank getting an education, she’d still give Frank shit for showing up back at home before school was even out.

_ Ray _ . Frank remembered his one true friend and was at once filled with comfort. He felt so confused and shaken up after the day’s events. He didn’t know how he felt about Pete, or his sexuality, or that new kid Gerard, or anything, really. To say his first day of school was overwhelming would be an understatement.

_ So much for trying to stay out of conflict, _ Frank thought bitterly. As much as he tried, it always seemed impossible for him to do so. It must just be something about him, he thought.

Ray’s house was only a few blocks away from the school, similarly to Frank’s apartment complex. Frank had always thought Ray was lucky to live in an actual house, and the place had always felt like more of a home to Frank than his own living place. Ray’s parents were together, and he had two older brothers, all living under the same roof. Like a real family.

Ray’s house had a charming quality to it, despite the rough area. It was bordered by a chain-link fence like every other structure and was one of the only two-story houses on the street, although it was still relatively small. But there was a small lawn within the fence, and a large tree in front of the house, obscuring much of it from the view of the street. The house was like its own tiny island, an oasis in the city, and was usually alive with many people coming and going all throughout the day.

The Toro household was a refuge for friends of any of the brothers. They were very interconnected with the community, unlike Frank’s mom who just wanted the cheapest place possible to occasionally crash at, and house her son, who in her words, she would be ‘unfortunately responsible for, for a whole ‘nother year’. Ray and his brothers were all hardworking, blue collar workers, and so were his parents, so they could all chip in for rent and other living expenses. His mom also was an excellent cook, making delicious traditional Puerto Rican food that she would gladly share with any visitors.

Frank walked through the gate, closing it behind him, and ascended the porch steps to knock on the door. He waited a few seconds for an answer while Ray’s dogs barked. It didn’t take long for Ray himself to open the door, and the two little mutts named Tito and Prada halted their barking as they rushed to greet Frank.

“Hello babies!” Frank cooed, dropping to his knees to greet the dogs and let them lick his face while he pet them. He’s always loved dogs, and they loved Frank in return. He’d never been allowed to have his own dog, so he was incredibly attached to Ray’s dogs, instead.

“Hey, Frank,” said Ray, closing the door behind them as Frank walked inside, the dogs still at his heels. “So... school’s out early?” he joked. Frank laughed.

“Yep. They told me  _ I  _ could leave early because I’m special.”

Ray rolled his eyes, “I’d tell you to at least try, but I dropped out too, so fuck it. I’m guessing you want some food?”

“Oh, fuck yeah,” said Frank. He was starving. Ray always had enough food at his house to give some to his friends.

“Alright, let’s make some sandwiches.”

After getting the food, the two of them headed upstairs to the room Ray shared with his brother Louis. His brother was at work so for now the two of them had the room to themselves.

“First thing’s first,” said Frank as they entered the room, “I need to roll a joint, like, yesterday.”

Ray laughed, “Okay stoner boy, calm down, I got you.”

That was the other good thing about Ray’s house – Frank could smoke there in peace. His mom hated the smell, so he couldn’t really bring the stuff anywhere near his apartment. But Ray’s parents didn’t mind too much, so long as they were in his room upstairs and blew the smoke out the window. Plus, Ray’s mom was a pretty enthusiastic fan of cannabis herself.

While Ray started to roll the joint, telling Frank it seemed like he’d already had a hard enough day, Frank hurriedly scarfed down his sandwich. When Ray was finished, he handed Frank the joint along with a lighter. Frank flicked the lighter and held it to the end of the joint, sucking in slowly to fill his longs with smoke as the tip of it was ignited.

He inhaled deeply and held his breath for a few moments, before exhaling slowly, watching the smoke escape in lazy tendrils, before bursting into a coughing fit. Ray laughed.

“Take it easy there, bud!”

Frank continued coughing, barely catching his breath before taking another, slightly smaller hit.

“Fuck,” Frank said when he finally composed himself. “Oh god, I needed that.” He passed the joint over to Ray.

Frank felt the effect of the drug hit him like a brick wall almost immediately. His eyelids grew heavy and the room around him became slightly distorted. The colors all seemed brighter, every sound a bit louder in the small room. A feeling of euphoria filled his body, all the built-up stress he’d accumulated over the day fading away into pure bliss.

God, Frank really loved weed.

“So, really, Frank,” Ray said after a little while, when they were almost finished smoking. He could easily tell there was something wrong, from the way Frank had shown up all pent up, and immediately wanted to smoke. “Why are you ditching class on the first day of school? I mean... that’s a first, even for you.”

“I dunno, I just...” Frank sighed. He was lying on Ray’s bed, on his back, and was currently busy examining every crack and mark on the white ceiling. “Well, it’s a lot. You know, Tyler was being a dick as usual. And then there was this new kid, and I thought we could be friends, but he was an asshole too. And then, Pete...” Frank paused, unsure if he could finish telling Ray what happened.

“Pete  _ what _ , Frank?” Ray pressed, sounding suspicious. He finished off the joint, put it out and then threw it out the window. Frank knew Ray had never been a huge fan of Pete Wentz.

“He.... well... he.... he kissed me.”

The room went eerily quiet.

“Frank,” said Ray softly, “Talk to me about it.”

This is why Frank loved Ray. He abandoned judgement and had always been like the older brother Frank had never had. He had met Ray when Frank was a freshman and Ray was a senior, and Ray had taken Frank under his wing when he’d learned of Frank’s passion for playing guitar. Ray showed Frank a ton of awesome bands and had helped Frank improve as a musician so much. Frank’s freshman year was his best year, because back then he’d had some older friends like ray at the school. It all went to shit after they graduated, and he was left there alone.

So, Frank told Ray everything. He told him about Gerard and the way he’d defended Frank against Tyler, and yet turned him down coldly at lunch. He told him about how he’d ditched class with Pete, and then Pete had suddenly kissed him on the bleachers, leaving him so confused. About how he didn’t know how he felt about Pete – that he liked the kiss, but he wasn’t sure he should have done it. How he wished he had pushed Pete away. And how he didn’t want his bullies to be right, but... a part of him wondered if he could be bisexual, just like Pete had said.

“You know, Frank,” Ray said slowly, after taking it all in. “If it’s true that you’re not straight, that you, err, like guys – I wouldn’t care, you know that, right? Just as long as you didn’t hit on me, at least.”

The two of them laughed at that.

“Ah, you have nothing to worry about, you’re like my brother.” said Frank. And he really meant it. That’s how much Ray meant to him.

Ray laughed, “Good, cause I can’t have you falling in love with me man, that would just complicate things.”

Frank pursed his lips, “Well, hmm, not falling in love with you is gonna be tough.”

The two of them erupted into giggles again, the mental state the drug had put them in making everything way too funny.

When they finally recovered from their laughter, Frank was ready to continue talking, though. His mind felt like it had been reset after getting high, like he’d pulled all the stress off his shoulders, and could see things more clearly. And it helped to talk to Ray to process everything he’d been thinking throughout the day.

“But that’s the thing... I’m not sure about Pete. But the new guy, uh, Gerard...” Frank’s mind wandered back to the intriguing new kid. He seemed so cold and indifferent, but so special and unique. “I dunno, I just... I feel like we have a lot in common, I guess. I can just tell. And he said this thing... about the other guys, who are dickheads to me, that they’re just taking out their problems on me... and, I don’t know, I guess I just want a friend at school again? At least until I turn 18 and drop out. Like, fuck, I have a whole ‘nother year ‘till that happens, I don’t wanna be miserable at school the whole time... and for some reason he feels like my only hope. God, that does sound gay. Guess it’s cause he’s new, so I have a chance with someone who doesn’t hate me yet.”

“Don’t worry Frank, that makes perfect sense,” Ray affirmed, turning over to look his friend in the eye. “I’m sure this Gerard guy would love to have you as a friend, you just have to keep trying! I know how persistent you can be. It’s pretty convincing.”

“Thanks Ray,” Frank laughed, remembering how he’d just inserted himself into Ray’s life those few years ago as well. He glanced over to Ray’s guitars in their stands, beckoning to him from across the room. “Now, c’mon, that’s enough talking about my feelings. You’ve gotta teach me how to play that one Grateful Dead song!”

Frank wasn’t sure which he loved more – just hanging out with Ray, or playing guitar with him. Of course, Frank knew he’d never be able to compare to his older friend’s skill. Ray had taught him so much of what he knew, and the guy had some serious talent. Playing music with someone else was such a special experience, and Frank couldn’t wait to be in a complete band someday. He even wrote stuff together with Ray all the time. There was no better feeling than being so in tune with another human being, the melodies they played on separate instruments interweaving to make something beautiful, ascending Frank to a higher plane of existence.

Playing helped him clear his head, too. While his fingers worked, maneuvering and dancing in delicate patterns over the strings, his mind worked behind the scenes as well. Subconsciously pondering his day, sorting through his feelings and experiences. Frank often reached epiphanies while he was playing music, without even trying. And as the thoughts were running through his head, analyzing his interactions throughout the day, from the turmoil of the bullies, to the hurt and confusion he’d felt as he fled from Pete on the bleachers, there was somehow just one person from that school who he felt comfort in the memory of, for a reason he couldn’t quite pin down.

It was Gerard. With a playful glint in his eyes. With his nervous energy in class, taking it all out in unseen drawings in a sketchbook. The challenge he presented Frank, saying without words that he didn’t need Frank, but he didn’t hate him. That he didn’t need  _ anyone _ . So, Frank would have to prove himself.

Frank knew he could win over Gerard. And he was always up for a challenge.

Gerard could keep trying to push him away all he wanted. But Frank knew Gerard could use a friend. And he didn’t plan on giving up so easily.

Frank made sure to be at school early the next morning, gripping a travel mug of shitty black coffee he’d brewed at home.

His mom hadn’t been home when he’d arrived there from Ray’s house late last night, thankfully. And she still wasn’t there when he’d woken up and left in the morning. If it wasn’t for the truancy laws holding his mother accountable, Frank would never attend school. But if he skipped school so much that the faked letters weren’t enough, and his mom got in trouble, Frank would be fucked. So, for now he’d just have to deal with it.

Frank was nervous for a plethora of reasons. With no breakfast, he was running on nothing but caffeine and was buzzing with the energy. He was anxious to have to face Tyler and Josh again. He was anxious because of the kiss with Pete. The possibility of Tyler knowing about the kiss. That was one of his biggest worries.

Frank sipped at the coffee, leaning against the lockers outside of the classroom, and cast his eyes downwards as Tyler and his crew walked by. Luckily, they didn’t stop to harass Frank or anything, just giving him some dirty glances. Thank god. That meant the word of what happened between Frank and Pete hadn’t spread around. If luck was on his side, no one would ever find out. But Frank wouldn’t let his guard down. If anything, he’ll still have to face talking to Pete about it soon enough. He’d rather procrastinate that conversation for as long as possible.

Then, finally, the person Frank was waiting for walked by. Gerard.

Frank tried to remain inconspicuous, not even sparing a glance in Gerard’s direction, as the other ignored Frank as well, heading straight through the door into class. Frank waited a few moments, and then walked in after Gerard. His brilliant plan was to let Gerard pick a seat first, so Frank could make sure to sit next to him again today.

When Frank walked into the room, he was thankful to see Gerard had taken the same seat as yesterday, in the back row. So, Frank headed for the same seat he’d been in yesterday as well.

“Now, make sure you choose your seat wisely today, ‘cause that’s where you’ll be sitting for the rest of the semester,” said Mr. Greer from the front of the classroom, as Frank made a beeline for his back-row spot. “But behave yourselves, or it’s assigned seats for all of you.”

When Frank sat down, he saw that Gerard had already pulled out his sketchbook and was very invested in whatever it was he was drawing. Frank took a deep breath. It was now or never. They still had a minute or two before the bell would ring.

“Whatcha drawin’?” Frank asked.

Gerard didn’t lift his head an inch, but his eyes darted up to Frank.

“None of your business,” he responded, focusing his attention back down to the paper.

“Aw, it’s okay, I won’t judge,” insisted Frank.

Gerard paused this time, lifting his head up to analyze Frank. He shrugged, seeming to let his guard down a bit.

“Fine, if it makes you shut up for a moment,” he said, and tossed the small sketchbook onto Frank’s desk.

Frank wasn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. First, Gerard had been drawing a cat. A cat that was somehow beautiful, with long, flowing fur, sat at a windowsill. And secondly, the drawing was  _ fantastic.  _ It was nothing short of  _ professional.  _ In varying shades of graphite, it perfectly encapsulated the animal’s elegant pose, the texture so realistic that Frank felt like he could reach out and touch it.

“H-holy shit Gerard, this is...” Frank’s voice trailed off, lost for words.

“Good, I know,” said Gerard, smirking as he retrieved the sketchbook from Frank’s desk, only seconds after he’d set it there. Without another word, he continued feverishly working on the drawing.

Frank watched him for a few moments, carefully choosing his next words. He’d broken through to Gerard the slightest bit. That was progress.

“Is it your cat?” he asked.

Gerard paused again, seeming to contemplate his response, as he usually did. “Yeah. I mean, she  _ was _ my cat. Not anymore.”

Frank hummed. “So... she died? I’m sorry about that.”

“Yeah,” said Gerard, “But it was a while ago, so it’s not a big deal. She was a pretty cat; I just like to draw her.”

Frank nodded, understanding. Hell, he’d draw everything in the world if he had the skill Gerard did.

“How’d you learn to draw so well?” Frank continued. He wanted to keep the conversation going, and he was genuinely curious. This new guy just kept getting more intriguing.

“Practice,” Gerard said simply. “Lots of practice.”

“Makes sense.”

Frank nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head as suddenly, Tyler, Josh, their friend Aaron, and Tyler’s newest girlfriend Jenna approached. They’d previously been sat at the other end of the room, but they loved to entertain themselves by torturing Frank, so here they were.

“Mind if we sit here?” Tyler asked, feigning innocence. Frank just glared at him, his lips pursed, keeping his mouth shut. Yes, of course he minded. Tyler knew that. But Frank didn’t want to cause a scene.

“Okay, yeah, thanks,” said Tyler. He then turned to Jenna, making a big show of kissing her right in front of Gerard. Frank was inwardly laughing, knowing this was just because of Gerard’s little ‘virgin’ comment yesterday. Tyler really couldn’t handle being disrespected in any way.

Gerard, as usual, didn’t even seem to notice. He was still enwrapped in his drawing. Tyler glanced at him, irritated, and looked like he was about to say something. But just then, the bell rang loudly, cutting him off before the class fell silent.

Math went by uneventfully, which Frank was thankful for. The teacher jumped straight into a lecture, starting their first lesson with a lengthy PowerPoint display. The class remained silent, many of the students sleeping or passing notes to each other while a few of them actually paid attention.

Frank wished he could’ve tried talking to Gerard more; he’d made some progress, after all. But he was also grateful that the silent room prevented Tyler and his crowd from being able to speak to him at all.

At the end of class, Mr. Greer stopped Frank again, inquiring about the worksheet he still hadn’t turned in. 

“Oh, sorry, I must’ve forgot,” Frank said, leaving the class without another word before his teacher could stop him.

At lunch period, Frank was once again standing across the courtyard from Gerard, who was sat in the same shaded area from yesterday.

The last time Frank had tried to sit with him, it had ended in disaster. He still felt the hurt of rejection coursing through him when he remembered the failed interaction. 

Still, Gerard’s younger brother wasn’t yet with him, and maybe he’d warmed up to Frank a bit that morning.

Either way, Frank remained determined, driven to keep trying.

He wanted just one friend, one person he could trust for the next year while he was stuck in high school. Gerard felt like his only chance.

So, he took a deep breath, taking the first step to walk across the courtyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for reference, this fic takes place in the early 2000's, think pre-2005. Hence, a bit more homophobic, and poor people don't have cellphones lol.
> 
> Things will start picking up soon btw, probably next chapter or the one after. Shit will get crazy.
> 
> And once again pls comment if you liked it!! They really inspire me to keep going~


	3. Keep the Faith

Frank was turned down cold. 

Again. And again. And again. 

The whole ordeal became routine to him. Every day, he’d talk to Gerard in Algebra. It felt like he was making progress as time went on. And then, Frank would try to approach the other at lunch. Gerard would always just tell him to go away. And then Mikey would appear, subtly glaring at Frank. Then, Frank would relinquish his efforts and sit at his usual lonely spot across the courtyard from them. He’d then pretend to be enwrapped in whatever he was scribbling in his notebook. 

Frank was determined, though, for some reason. He still didn’t know what it was about Gerard that kept him so persistent, but he had convinced himself it was none other than the fact that he wanted a friend and Gerard seemed cool. There was nothing else behind his piqued interest. Definitely not Gerard’s wide and innocent eyes that were fascinating in a way, or his small, upturned nose, or his porcelain, flawless skin. Gerard just seemed cool, and similar to Frank. That was it. 

Frank still thought he had a chance. He could be pretty persistent, and Gerard was the only interesting person who’d shown up in years. Plus, he swore that these days Gerard seemed almost guilty as he pushed Frank away every lunch period. As if, sometimes, he didn’t even want to turn Frank down. He even started adding a ‘sorry’ at the end of his dismissals, something very new for him. Frank was certain he’d seen a hint of regret in the other’s eyes. 

Besides that, Frank was desperately trying to distract himself from another worry that was plaguing his mind. The kiss with Pete. No one else had found out, and Frank hoped it would stay that way, but he couldn’t help feeling constantly paranoid. He knew he’d get treated even shittier than he already did if anyone found out. Especially if the wrong people found out. Like Tyler. 

Frank had done a pretty good job of avoiding Pete entirely. If he saw the other boy, he’d duck his head down and make a beeline for the opposite direction. That was his go-to for any conversation he’d rather avoid. 

It had been a few weeks since school started, and Frank was beginning to fall into his usual routine. He’d attended all of his classes at least once by now, and terribly disappointed every teacher as planned. But Frank liked one of his classes, at least. It was art class, which was pretty easy and it actually kind of fun. They got to just make collages or paint all period, and even though Frank was relatively bad at art and never finished his projects, he still somewhat enjoyed it. Frank found himself wishing Gerard was in that class with him, he was a fantastic artist after all. But Frank was in an intro class, and it seemed Gerard was far past that level. 

Standing across the courtyard again at lunch, Frank now watched Gerard, who was sitting idly in the shade and sketching fervently. By now Frank didn’t get as nervous approaching the other. He walked right up to Gerard, shamelessly playing the role of the parasite he couldn’t shake. But Frank didn’t mind. He was finally getting under his skin. 

“Whatcha drawing?” Frank asked as he stood over Gerard, eyeing his sketchbook. 

Gerard let out a drawn-out sigh, and looked up at Frank with an annoyed expression, but Frank could swear he saw some playfulness in those eyes. 

Gerard didn’t respond, he simply turned the notebook around so Frank could see it. 

This drawing was unlike anything Frank had seen from him before. 

Despite Gerard’s edgy appearance, his art was generally peaceful and calm. Cats, or the scenery of a lush forest, a city street on a lazy afternoon. Not violent or shocking, just beautiful. 

This drawing was the opposite of that. It was chaos defined. 

Frank could barely make sense of the illustration at first. All he saw was various hues of deep orange, yellow and red. When Frank’s eyes adjusted, he could make out only one thing clearly. It was a man, hanging upside down. He seemed to be suspended up in the sky, over a blurry cityscape. But the image was unclear, a chaotic mess of scribbles that blurred the scene. What appeared to be a rain of crimson was cascading down the image. It was as if the world was imploding around the lone figure, who was being engulfed by flames. 

“Holy shit, Gerard. This is insane.” Said Frank, completely in awe. “It’s so... different from all the other ones.” 

Gerard hummed and nodded, “I was thinking of a different time of my life. A more chaotic time.” 

Frank nodded sympathetically. Whatever Gerard had been through must have been pretty damn traumatic to have led to this drawing. 

Without any invite, Frank sat down next to Gerard, leaning his back against the wall. Gerard tensed for a moment, but then seemed to decide it was okay, continuing to scribble maniacally across the paper with colored pencil, occasionally switching colors when he saw fit. He was using the warm colors, as Frank learned in art class. Red, orange, yellow. But in Gerard’s drawing, the colors appeared less ‘warm’ and more scorching hot. Frank watched with fascination as Gerard worked. 

Now it had been over five minutes, and Mikey still hadn’t shown up. Frank took advantage of this, after all he had finally been able to at least sit next to Gerard. 

“What kind of music do you like?” Frank asked. It was something he’d been itching to know since the moment he saw Gerard. 

“Lots of stuff.” Said Gerard without halting his drawing. “What do you like?” 

It was the first question Gerard had ever asked Frank about himself. 

“Rock music!” He exclaimed without hesitation, “Like, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, the Misfits, Black Flag... that kinda stuff.” 

“I like them,” Gerard said. “I like Nirvana’s song ‘About a Girl’ a lot.” 

“That’s my favorite song!” Frank said a bit too loudly and excitedly. Gerard seemed amused by his enthusiasm, chuckling and looking up at him. 

But he was abruptly distracted by something else, and Frank looked up as well to see someone standing over them. It was Mikey. Now Frank’s fun had to end. Plus, the younger brother looked particularly stern today. He even seemed kind of upset. He looked down at Frank with something like... pity? That couldn’t be right. Frank was perplexed. 

“Hi Frank,” Mikey said. That was the most he’d ever said to Frank. 

“Hey Mikey, what’s up?” Gerard interjected, sensing that something was off about his younger brother. 

Mikey seemed stressed and a bit lost for words. His eyes darted between Frank and Gerard, as if he wanted to say something. His eyes kept falling on Frank with an almost guilty expression. Frank was starting to get concerned. 

“I think you should head to your locker,” He said to Frank finally. “There’s something you should see.” 

Frank felt his heart sink to his stomach. This couldn’t be good. He suspected it could somehow have to do with Tyler, or Pete. 

“Um, okay,” Frank said, standing up awkwardly. Gerard was looking at Mikey quizzically, clearly wanting an explanation. “Bye, Gerard,” Frank said, as he grabbed his backpack and walked away. 

Frank felt his anxiety growing as he rushed to the other side of campus where his locker was located. His mind was racing with endless possibilities. Had his locker been broken into? Was it defaced in some way? Was this some kind of trap Mikey was leading him into, or just a creative way to get rid of Frank? He had no clue, and he wouldn’t know until he got there. 

Frank practically ran up the stairs to the second story of the building. He was panting heavily by the time he reached the top. 

His nervousness peaked as he noticed a small group crowded around the locker. Tyler, Josh, and Jenna, with a few others. Before he could think, Frank was running towards them. They were all pointing at his locker, laughing excitedly, and Frank had to know now what the hell was going on. And he had to put a stop to whatever it was, if there was anything he could do. 

What he found when he finally pushed through the crowd was the worst thing he could have possibly imagined. 

There was a photograph taped to the locker. It was him and Pete. On the bleachers. On that day. And their lips were locked together, in a seemingly loving manner. Pete’s hand was on the back of Frank’s neck, and Frank was leaning into the kiss, clearly reciprocating. 

Frank’s heart stopped altogether, and his breath caught in his throat. 

“I knew it,” Tyler laughed, “You’re really a homo after all!” 

His friends were practically dying of laughter. Frank felt the world imploding around him. The room was spinning, and everything was getting blurry. This was his worst nightmare come to life. He felt like he was going to pass out. 

Before he could think, Frank snatched the photo from the locker. He turned and pushed roughly through the small crowd, storming away before breaking into a full run. He could hear them taunting him from behind, but he didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted to get the hell out of there. He wanted to get away from everything. 

As Frank ran down the stairs, he realized that tears were running down his face. He cursed himself. He couldn’t help it. He was shaking with emotion. It was like his entire world was falling apart. 

Frank continued to run across the campus, as other students gave him quizzical glances when he passed them by. He eventually reached the sports fields, speed walking to seem casual as he headed straight for the exit. 

When Frank had finally escaped from the school gates, crossed the street and turned the corner so the campus was no longer in view anymore, he felt like he could finally breathe. But breathing was hard after all that running. His lungs were burning with every shaky breath. His legs felt like they were going to give out from under him. Frank wasn’t the most athletic person. He was probably only able to run for as long as he did from the adrenaline. 

Frank sat down on a bench in front of the corner store near the school. He couldn’t stop the thoughts and questions that were racing through his head. How had a photo been taken of them? Who the hell took it? And who taped it to his locker, and why did they wait so long to reveal it? 

Frank’s mind raced with a billion possibilities. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Pete himself was the culprit. He would somehow find a way to protect his reputation, as always. He’ll probably blame it all on Frank. Maybe this was some sort of sick payback for Frank ignoring him all this time. But that still didn’t explain how or why there was a photo of them in the first place. 

They had been so far away from anyone else on those bleachers. How could anyone have taken that photo? Frank felt sick to his stomach. He hadn’t even wanted to kiss Pete. And now that one moment would ruin the rest of his high school life. 

He didn’t even want to think about returning to school tomorrow, after the rumor had spread. Surely everyone in his grade already knew by now. He was certain Tyler couldn’t wait to tell everyone. 

Frank opened up the crumpled up photograph that was still clutched tightly in his hand. The kiss looked so genuine, like Frank was really into it. He hadn’t been thinking straight. He’d fucked up for good. 

A sudden gust of wind left Frank shivering in his t-shirt. He looked up and saw a storm was brewing. Fitting, he thought. It was as if he’d controlled the weather. Heavy clouds shrouded the sky, and the damp smell of coming rain filled the air. Frank quickly found his sweatshirt from deep in his backpack and pulled it over his head. 

He then got up and threw the photo away in the closest trashcan, even though he knew it certainly wasn’t the only copy. His reputation was fucked, and now he had to live with that. 

He momentarily contemplated killing himself before quickly deciding against it. He didn’t really want to die, death was too uncertain and scary. Plus, he had big plans for the future. He’d become a famous guitarist and prove them all wrong. He felt the determination, fueled by anger, stirring in his gut. He should go home and scribble angry words into his notebook. Turn his rage into a song. 

The first drops of rain began to fall, leaving dark droplets across the pavement. 

Under the overhang of the store, Frank could remain dry for now. He pulled his sweatshirt hood over his head, warding off the cold. As the rain and wind slowly picked up, he dreaded what would certainly be a miserable walk home. Frank thought he should definitely give Ray a visit first. He needed to get high more than anything right now. 

“Frank?” 

Frank startled, looking up to see none other than Gerard Way standing in front of him. The other boy even looked a bit concerned. Maybe Mikey had told him what happened. 

Frank couldn’t push away the suspicion that popped into his head. Why had Mikey known so early on? Although Mikey was strange and standoffish, he’d never struck Frank as malicious or cruel. He was just a freshman, too, and seemed fairly innocent. Maybe he’d just happened to be passing by in the hallway. But who knew? 

“Frank, what happened?” Gerard asked, sitting next to him on the bench tentatively. His hair had been just slightly dampened by the rain and ruffled lightly in the wind. 

Frank scoffed, “No offense, but I don’t want to fuckin’ talk about it right now.” 

Those words felt harsh to even Frank as they left his mouth, but Gerard seemed unphased. 

“That’s fine,” said Gerard. They sat in silence for a few moments as the rain picked up until it was pouring, being blown sideways by the wind violently. Distant thunder rumbled in the sky. 

“I wanted to hear it from you, but Mikey told me. He knows Pete.” Gerard spoke up again. He seemed almost nervous, bouncing his leg as he faced Frank. Then again, Gerard always seemed to have a nervous energy coursing through him. He was always drawing, or tapping a pen on his desk, or twirling his fingers through his long hair. It was annoying to most, but Frank found it endearing for some reason. 

“He knows Pete?” Frank asked, intrigued, as a newfound anger flooded through him, “Pete did it, didn’t he!? Fuck!” 

There was a bright flash, and then another crack of thunder in the sky. Gerard looked taken aback by Frank’s sudden outburst. 

“I don’t know the details,” said Gerard earnestly. “I don’t know if Pete put the photo up. He could have, I won’t deny it. He said he saw it first, after the others caught on. He told Mikey immediately. And, you know, Pete’s in the photo too, Frank.” 

Frank was now certain Pete was the culprit. He put his face in his hands. 

“But Pete will somehow brush it all off while I fuckin’ get hell,” Frank groaned. “I don’t know what the fuck to do.” 

Gerard remained silent for a moment, contemplating his next words. 

“Well, you know I’m gay, right?” he said, out of nowhere. 

Frank froze up and looked over Gerard, shocked. He’d never heard those words point blank from a guy he knew before. 

“Really?” He asked in a hushed tone. He could feel himself blushing slightly. He didn’t know why the news made him feel... something. He was definitely not into Gerard in that way, Frank wasn’t gay. But he’d never known an openly gay guy before, so he was taken aback. 

“Yeah,” Gerard smiled fondly, “It’s not a big deal, it’s normal. Been around forever. Those kids are just ignorant, they know nothing about the world. They just believe whatever’s been fed to them. I just wanted to let you know that there’s nothing wrong with what you did. As in, kissing another guy.” 

Frank was visibly blushing by now. He hoped Gerard didn't notice it in the dim lighting. 

“I didn’t even want to kiss him though,” Frank grumbled. “He just kinda... grabbed me, and like, did it out of nowhere. And I just went along with it ‘cause I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“Oh,” said Gerard, tsking, “Well that’s a shitty thing to do. Fuck Pete. And fuck Tyler, and all of them. You don’t deserve any of the shit they give you.” 

Frank smiled coyly, looking up to meet Gerard’s eyes again. 

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” He prodded, amused. “Guess you just had to feel bad for me to act like my friend, huh?” 

Gerard smiled slightly, rolling his eyes. “Guess so. You’ve grown on me. You never give up, do you?” 

“Nope,” Frank declared proudly. “And that’s a promise.” 

“It’s a good trait,” said Gerard. “You always have to keep the faith. In yourself, in anything you believe in.” 

Those words stuck with Frank. It was such a meaningful response to his admission of annoying persistence. 

They continued to talk as the storm raged on, and Frank had to admit he was starting to feel a bit better. He’d succeeded in befriending Gerard, even though it seemed like everything else had to go to shit in order for this to happen. Now he finally had a friend at school. And he had to admit he was pretty proud of himself to have won over the one person who wouldn’t give anyone else the time of day. 

“What do you usually do when you ditch school like this?” Gerard asked after a few minutes. 

Frank shrugged. “I usually just go to my friend Ray’s house and get high. But we sometimes hang out at, uh, the grocery store down the street. There’s a Starbucks and a Chinese food place in the back of it. Exciting, I know.” 

Gerard laughed, and stood up from the bench abruptly. “Well, then. Let’s go.” 

He extended his hand for Frank to take, and then yanked the other boy up from his seat. 

“We might get a little wet,” Frank joked as the two of them headed out into the pouring rain. 

He was right. There was nothing that could keep them dry as they ran to the street corner. Frank pulled his sweatshirt hood tightly over his head, but it was soaked within a minute. He and Gerard ran across the busy intersection when the light changed, and then speed walked down another block to the store. Frank led the way, but Gerard kept up easily, even when Frank was starting to tire again. All of that running he did earlier really took the life out of him. 

They quickly reached the store, heading for the back entrance. Once through the automatic sliding door, Gerard proclaimed they should get Starbucks. Frank turned down the offer, since he only had enough money for possibly one item at ‘Rice Oasis’ and he was starving, but Gerard insisted on paying for everything. Frank was shocked and promised to pay Gerard back as soon as he could, but the other insisted it was really no big deal. 

Gerard had never struck Frank as a well-off person, so Frank still felt bad to have him pay... but Frank wasn’t about to turn down free food and Starbucks. 

Since Gerard insisted Frank should go all out and not think about the money, the boy boldly ordered a large caramel Frappuccino with extra whip cream. And then he proceeded to feel embarrassed when Gerard ordered nothing but a fucking black coffee, claiming anything else would be too sugary for his taste. Frank simply remarked that Gerard was missing out, as he gladly sipped on his sugary drink through the straw when it was ready. 

Gerard then bought Frank a full plate of Chinese food, but still didn’t get anything for himself. Frank briefly wondered if he was anorexic or something. After all, he apparently had plenty of money, but Frank had never seen him eat. But he decided to ignore it for now, after all he still hardly knew Gerard and that would be a pretty personal topic. 

The two of them talked for a bit, sat at one of the small tables in the back of the store and giving themselves time to dry off. Frank was also busy stuffing his face with the delicious food. Gerard just sipped at his coffee, but at least he seemed to be enjoying it. And he seemed just as happy to be in Frank’s presence. 

After Frank was done eating, they headed back outside. It was still raining, but much less violently. The worst of the storm had cleared and the rain fell steadily and peacefully in the grey afternoon. 

Frank watched as Gerard pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket’s pocket, lighting up one of them and taking a deep drag. 

“You smoke?” Frank asked. 

“Well, of course,” Gerard said, smirking, “Can’t you see I’m smoking?” 

Frank laughed, “Okay, smartass. Well... can I have one?” 

“You smoke too?” 

Frank scoffed, “Of course! We’re like, the same age, you know.” 

“We can share,” decided Gerard, passing the cig to Frank. 

The two of them shared it in near silence, letting the calm rain fall on them and hoping the cigarette wouldn’t get put out by it. When Frank looked over to Gerard’s face, so at peace as he took a long drag and blew the cool smoke from his lips, he felt a pang of something in his chest. There was something almost ethereal about him, his dark hair perfectly framing his smooth features. 

Pretty. The word crossed Frank’s mind before he could stop it. Confusion stirred in his stomach. Gerard was too good to be true. 

The rain slowly began to dissipate as the two of them walked back to Frank’s place, Gerard having offered to walk him home. Frank thankfully breathed in the fresh air that the rain left behind. He loved the rain, because it always washed away the usual city smog that polluted the air. 

Eventually they reached the run-down apartment building that Frank called home, and they paused outside of the gate. “Well, here we are,” Frank said. He glanced to the small parking lot at the side of the building, and grimaced as he spotted his mom’s car. “But, my mom’s here, and she’s, uh... kinda a handful. So, ugh, you can’t come in or anything.” 

“That’s cool, I understand,” Gerard said. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow?” 

Frank sighed deeply. He didn’t even want to think about school tomorrow, fuck, why did Gerard have to remind him? But Gerard looked so eager and supportive, and it made Frank’s heart tinge. 

“Sure, I guess,” Frank said, shrugging. 

“Here,” Gerar said, rummaging through his pocket. He produced the pack of cigarettes. “You can have the rest. You’re seem anxious. It’s gonna be okay though, I swear.” 

Frank had to admit that cheered him up a lot. He took the pack from Gerard gratefully. 

What he didn’t expect was for Gerard to pull him into a sudden hug. Frank froze in place, before quickly reacting and wrapping his arms back around the other's shoulders, as Gerard gave him a reassuring squeeze on his biceps before pulling away, a sweet smile on his face. 

“You needed that,” Gerard said. “See you.” 

“Bye.” 

Frank watched, dazed, as Gerard turned and walked away. Frank slipped the pack of cigarettes into his pocket. He turned to face his apartment, the anxieties in the back of his head returning in full as he headed through the chain link fence and then typed in the code on the door handle to enter the complex. Already, his brain was a whirlwind of anxiety about facing his classmates the next day. And Gerard was no longer here to distract him. 

It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well look who finally completed a chapter! and i have some things to say
> 
> first of all, enjoy this fluff cause the REAL plot will start next chapter
> 
> plus gerard's drawing was just the 'bullets' album cover if you didn't catch that lmao
> 
> also, the song 'about a girl' by nirvana... i've heard Frank mention it in like, multiple interviews, so that's why i chose that song and band specifically haha. what a normie. it's cannon highschool frank.
> 
> aaand, i am actually writing this a few chapters ahead of time before publishing, which is why it might take a little long sometimes. i just want to have things a bit planned out so i can revise chapters before i post them :)
> 
> and please comment!!!! please .... i'll love you forever lol


	4. I Never Told You What I Do for a Living

For Frank, the next few weeks were a confusing mix of both tragedy and bliss.

On the bright side, he’d finally gotten through to Gerard. They spent countless days hanging out around town, and sometimes even at Frank’s apartment – if his mom wasn’t home, of course. There was something still so intriguing about Gerard, and Frank still couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It was a feeling he’d never had before. Not even Ray had ever gotten through to Frank quite so perfectly, and they’d known each other for years.

For the most part, Frank tried not to question why he was so invested in Gerard. He just... was. If he tried to contemplate it too much, it would start to lead to the possibility of a realization about himself that Frank just wasn’t ready to make.

Frank had even made some progress befriending his little brother Mikey. And by that he meant having a brief conversation about the weather one day. And that was  _ something _ , because the younger boy was practically mute as far as Frank was concerned.

He still had never been over to Gerard’s place, and didn’t know too much about Gerard, at all. Gerard never really went  into detail about his own life, despite drawing everything out of Frank. He was the opposite of an open book, which just made Frank that much more curious. He knew there was something ‘off’ about Gerard, and it intrigued him. And Frank could accept this about him, because honestly, he just loved hanging out with him.

Frank felt kind of guilty for spending a lot less time with Ray, though. Ray seemed a bit concerned about him, but he looked relieved when Frank admitted he’d made a friend his own age at school – the guy from his class he’d mentioned to Ray back in September and had seemed totally enamored with. Ray suspected there may be something more between them, and he wanted to allow himself to be happy for Frank. But if he tried to bring this up, Frank’s cheeks would heat up and he’d brush it off with another ‘ _ we’re just good friends!’ _

But despite these progressions in Frank’s life, things were still far from perfect. As in, life was still shit.

The photo taped to the locker was not the only copy, of course.

By the time Frank had gone to school the next day, everyone had seen it.

Pete played it off exactly as Frank knew he would. He claimed he and his friends were pulling a prank on Frank to see if he would do it. He also claimed Frank was the one who’d initiated the kiss, and everyone just went ahead and believed him.

Frank was furious and humiliated. The situation made too much sense. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted Pete. He didn’t understand why he’d do that to Frank. And now, the taunting and bullying had exploded in numbers thanks to him.

And although the initially chaos had died down slowly, it had now been weeks and Frank wasn’t sure he’d ever hear the end of it. He was a living joke at his school now, and it hurt, no matter how hard he tried not to care. The school hours had become even more of a barren hellscape.

The only plus side was Gerard. He got to have Gerard in first period math, and lunch. The hour combined was the only bright side of Frank’s every day. In fact, he hated to admit to himself that Gerard was now the only reason he came to school most days.

But Gerard hadn’t been at school for the past two days.

And he wasn’t there the third day, either. Frank’s stomach twisted uncomfortably as he saw his empty seat.

Mikey had been missing as well. Somehow, Frank still didn’t have their address or phone number. He became more paranoid with every day that passed. His mind raced with endless possibilities of what may have become of the brothers. Were they suddenly pulled out and put in a different school? Did they both come down with the flu? Are they dead? He had no way of knowing and he hated it.

His only option was hoping they’d come back.

Frank’s first period passed by terribly slowly, as expected. His usual tormenters wouldn’t stop shoving papers or his notebook off his desk, and there was an endless slew of insults muttered in his direction.

“Too bad your boyfriend isn’t here to defend you,” Tyler scoffed at one point.

Frank hated them, and he especially hated that they were right about Gerard, in a way. Frank was terrible with words, and he had no idea how to defend himself. Gerard could always easily shoot them down with one pointed comment.  So when Gerard was around, no one messed with Frank. 

Now, he was defenseless.

When the bell finally rang at the end of the period, Frank threw his backpack over his shoulder and practically made a mad dash for the door. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone today. He was already shaken enough by Gerard having disappeared out of nowhere.

But he wasn’t fast enough. As soon as he made it out into the hallway, they were right on his tail. It wasn’t long before they surrounded Frank, backing him against the wall.

“Trying to run away because Gee isn’t around to protect you? How cute,” Tyler taunted. Frank said nothing. He knew it was no food fighting back. He’d just add more fuel to the fire.

Josh stepped forward to stand by Tyler’s side, glaring down at Frank intimidatingly.

“Fags don’t belong in this school,” Josh spat. “You’re disgusting. And you gotta learn the hard way or you’ll go to hell forever.”

“Fuck you!” Frank yelled, unable to contain himself any longer. “And what about Pete? You  fucking hypocri-”

Frank was cut off abruptly when Tyler’s fist collided with his jaw. A blinding pain flashed through Frank’s skull as his head snapped to the side. His hand immediately lifted to rub over the spot where he’d been hit. 

When he looked up, Tyler’s friends were all laughing down at Frank. Even worse, a small crowd was starting to form in the hall as passerby's took notice. They were giggling amongst themselves, watching with excitement in the hopes of a fight.

Before he could stop himself, Frank threw his backpack off his shoulders and charged at Tyler, his fist raised.

But before he made contact, he was sent crashing to the floor by Josh. He pinned Frank took the ground, punching him in the face repeatedly. He was much stronger, but Frank still fought back with all his might, and he was eventually able to shove Josh off him and lift himself back up from the floor.

He remained on the defense as Tyler and Aaron joined in, making it three against one.

By now the scuffle was creating chaos and a full crowd had formed around them, all cheering and chanting as if they were watching a football game or something.

Frank would land a blow here and there, but really, he had no chance. At the end, he ended up on the floor, getting the shit kicked out of him by the others. By that point he was just trying to curl up in a  ball, and make them go away. All he felt was pain, all over his body.

“Hey! Cut it out!!” Frank heard a man’s voice yelling, somewhere, in the distance. It sounded like the room had quieted down, but Frank couldn’t really tell, he felt so far away. But he slowly realized he wasn’t being beaten anymore.

Frank uncurled from his ball and sat up, coming back down to earth. He realized with horror that he’d been crying. He wiped his  face and his hand came away wet with blood, tears and snot. One of his eyes was swollen and painful, and he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. His stomach and ribs were aching.

They got him real good.

“Frank? Frank, are you okay?” Frank’s eyes slowly focused on the person crouched down in front of him. It was Mr. Greer, at eye level with Frank.

“’M fine,” Frank grumbled, grabbing his back and standing up with some difficulty, leaning against the wall to help. 

There were still some students milling around, watching them curiously.

_ Great _ , thought Frank,  _ I got the shit beat out of me and everyone was here to see it. _

_ “ _ Hey, don’t you all have classes to get to?” Mr. Greer snapped, and they all rushed off.

Frank noticed Tyler and Josh a few feet away, being lectured by the school’s security guard. Aaron and the rest of their friends who’d initially cornered Frank were nowhere to be seen.

“Now, c’mon, you,” the security guard said in a bored tone, turning his attention to Frank. “I’ll be taking y’all to the office now. We’ll talk consequences there.”

“You realize what this was, right?” Mr. Greer interjected through gritted teeth. “This wasn’t a ‘fight’. Those other boys ganged up on-”

“Don’t  wanna hear it. It’s for Perkins to decide,” the guard interrupted.

Frank  recognized the guard then, it was Mr. Day. He’d caught Frank trying to ditch class and put him in detention a few times. Not exactly good for his case.

The walk across campus to the office was awkward, to say the least. Frank wiped his tears away and tried to stifle any groans of pain, cupping the side of his face where he could feel a black eye forming. Tyler and Josh walked together a few feet away from Frank, taking turns glaring at him. At least Frank could spot a few bruises on them too, and he felt the pain in his knuckles as a reminder. At least it wasn’t a  _ complete  _ loss, although Frank was certainly much worse for wear.

Once at the school office, Frank was instructed to sit and wait on a chair in the hallway, while Tyler and Josh were brought into the ‘Behavioral Administrator’s’ room.

Frank sat and waited anxiously. Knowing this school and his past issues with authority, he was sure he’d end up with at least part of the blame.

As he waited, Frank watched as Jenna, Mandy, and Aaron were escorted into the hallway and sat across from him by another staff member. So, they didn’t get away with their little escape after all. Frank managed to keep himself from smirking proudly or even daring making eye contact, but he was pleased they’d gotten in trouble as well.

Right after Tyler and Josh were sent out of the room, glaring down Frank again as they left, Frank was called in.

Mr. Perkins, as the bronze name plaque said, told Frank to take a seat in front of his desk. He was a heavy-set man with greying hair and sunken eyes, probably in his mid 50’s or so. He had a permanent expression that said ‘I hate my job and my life’.

“So, Frank, is it? I understand you’ve gotten in a little scuffle,” he said. “ Apparently, it’s not the first time you’ve gotten in some trouble with the rules, but it’s the first time you’ve landed yourself in  _ my  _ office. Care to explain?”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Frank grumbled. “Tyler - and Josh, and them – they won’t leave me alone. They followed me into the hallway and-”

“Yeah, yeah. It happens kid, I don’t need to hear it,” he cut him off. “You threw some punches too, they’ve got the bruises to prove it.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’,” he interrupted rudely. “I get it,  ‘cause you know, there’s something up with that Tyler kid. He’s ended up in this office a handful of times. He’s always starting somethin’. Got issues. So, he’s getting detention now, and so are you, and so’s his little friends. To make it fair, alright? Cause you ALL gotta clean your acts up. Just stay out of trouble, er, Frank, just avoid them. You’ll be spending school hours in detention tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Frank mumbled, knowing there was no point in arguing any longer. He hadn’t been expecting much. But at least the school seemed to have a track record on Tyler being an overall piece of shit.

Frank spent the rest of the day in the nurse’s office, icing his injuries on and off. He would have gotten to go home if he’d had a parent or guardian come to pick him up but, alas. The nurse seemed to take pity on him when he practically begged not to be sent back to class and let him just hang out on one of the nurse’s beds in the back room.

When Frank was finally released from school at the end of the day, he happened to walk right by Pete on his way out. The other boy looked over from his friend group, flashing Frank a knowing and triumphant smile. Frank just put his head down and stormed out the gate.

All Frank wanted at that moment was to be alone. He practically ran home, not fond of the possibility of getting cornered by the same guys somewhere off campus. Who knew if they were done with him or not? Probably not.

Frank just wanted to play guitar, or sleep, or do literally anything to take his mind  off of ... well, everything. He didn’t want to think about how Gerard hasn’t shown up at school. He didn’t want to feel his head pounding, his right eye throbbing and his lip so swollen and painful.

When he finally reached the apartment, he thanked god that his mom wasn’t home. But whatever he tried; he simply couldn’t distract himself from his thoughts. He tried playing guitar, but his hand hurt too much from where his fist had connected with bone, and he couldn’t play right. He tried watching some of his favorite horror flicks, but they just reminded him of Gerard, now that they’d watched them all together.

His brain wouldn’t stop going back to Gerard, and his absence, obsessively. All he could do was hope with all his heart and soul that when he showed up at school tomorrow, Gerard would be there. He  _ had  _ to be there. Frank didn’t know if he could handle returning to his previous state of perpetual loneliness, now that he’d gotten so used to having a friend.

For an unfixed  period of time , Frank was practically trapped, just  lying in bed, immobile. He was paralyzed by his own mind, and he wasn’t even able to sleep, either. His brain ran in anxious circles, his gaze boring into the ceiling above him. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it was dark now. His head  still hurt; his body still hurt – everything hurt. And he was hungry, so hungry, but there was no food, and he had no money.

Frank’s mind wandered back to a different place in time. He didn’t used to live in this shitty apartment. He lived in a house, on a safe street with sprawling lawns, where he could play with the neighbors. And his parents were happy together. His dad was a drummer and played in a band on the weekends, and he’d take Frank along to their shows at local pubs from time to time. His mom held down a part-time job, and cooked dinner every night, and Frank knew that both his parents  _ cared  _ about him. Now, he was  fairly certain neither of them did at all.

Everything had gone to shit so fast. He was so young when it all happened, so the details were still fuzzy. He remembered the loud arguments, when he would beg his parents to stop fighting at his naïve age. And after the divorce, his mom took him and moved across the country, cutting off all contact from his father. Frank didn’t know what his dad did that was so bad. But he assumed his dad had stopped caring about him eventually, now that it’s been years and he still hasn’t contacted Frank at all.

His mom used to be kind, she used to be good to him. But ever since the divorce, and the move, she’d gone rapidly downhill. At some point, she just stopped trying altogether.

They’d moved another two times since the initial leap across the country. Frank could never really settle down. At least with the second move she’d kept him in the same city and school. But Frank  sknew he’d never feel secure again, not in the way he did when he was a small child, and his parents were together. He’d done so well in  school and had so many friends in his old life. When everything changed for him so suddenly, he didn’t know how to adapt, and it all went to shit.

And in this miserable cycle was where Frank would stay... but maybe not, if Gerard came back. Maybe it was dumb to think that, but for some reason he felt like Frank’s only hope, in a way. He just wished Gerard would come back. All he wanted was for him to show up at school the next morning, waiting by the entrance for Frank like he’d gotten in the habit of. And he’d smile so excitedly with those hazel eyes that made Frank weak inside. Why did he miss him so much after just a few days?

Suddenly, Frank heard the lock turn in the front door, and his stomach sank. His mom was home. Fuck.

He heard the door swing open, and his mom talking loudly with a man. Frank was pretty sure it was her new boyfriend Kyle, if he remembered correctly. She’d only been with him a few months, and he was just as worthless and trashy as all the other men his mom had dated since the divorce. Frank groaned, pulling a pillow over his head and hoping they wouldn’t bother him. The last thing he needed was for his mom to notice the bruises on his face.

Luckily no one came to Frank’s room, but it wasn’t long before the talking between them turned to arguing. They were probably drunk, Frank thought, even though it was a fucking Thursday night. Frank pulled the pillow tighter over his ears, trying to drown them out. But it was useless. Now there was all this yelling and cursing and banging. It was driving him insane.

“... _ crazy bitch! You’re fuckin’ crazy! Why would I ever-” _

_ “ _ _ Oh _ _ you’re calling me crazy? Well sorry for  _ _ bein _ _ ’ the one who’s  _ _ gotta _ _ pay rent like a grown up and got a fuckin’ son on my hands! You’re the most  _ _ irresponsible _ _ -” _

_ “Ah, the son’s a fuck up, you said it yourself! And you’re always complainin’ sayin’-” _

Frank threw the pillow to the floor and sat up off the bed. He’d heard enough.

He knew he couldn’t just walk out the front door, but he  _ had  _ to get out of the apartment  _ now _ . And fuck, he needed a smoke. This entire day was really testing his limits.

Frank stumbled to his dresser and opened the bottom shelf, shuffling through his clothes before he found the now half-empty pack of cigarettes Gerard had given him. Frank didn’t smoke too often, only when he felt like he really needed it. He didn’t want to  keep mooching off Gerard for them. Gerard already bought Frank food all the time, and that was enough. Frank sighed as he was once again reminded of Gerard, and his stomach ached from its newfound emptiness.

Frank then quickly pulled on his shoes and a jacket. It was now early October, Frank’s birthday month, so it was getting  pretty cold at night.

Frank’s window didn’t have any bars over it, due to it being inside a fenced-off walkway on the side of the apartment building.  So, it was always easy for Frank to slide open the window next to his bed, remove the screen, and slip out unnoticed, closing the window slowly behind him.

Frank shuddered. It had gotten extremely foggy outside. The night had an eerie white glow to it, the world around him disappearing into entirely within 50 feet. Still, he walked to the back end of the walkway to that exited into the alley behind his building, stepping out into the wider path. In each direction, Frank couldn’t even see the end of the alley. It was pretty creepy, but at the eerie sensation it created distracted him from the bitter emptiness that had consumed him all day.

But it was getting under his skin, especially as he wandered down the alley and quickly lost sight of his building. If there was a threat just around the corner, he couldn’t see it. At least this meant they couldn’t see  _ him _ , either. And, if he got targeted by some mugger, what was he going to steal anyways? Frank’s half empty pack of cigarettes?

Either way, he’d rather not get held up at gunpoint, so he tried to keep his wits about him. He felt a bit paranoid as he crossed the street and wandered down the next alley. He couldn’t stop looking over his shoulder.

He finally pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit the end of it, gratefully pulling the smoke into his lungs. The street was uneven and littered with random patches of garbage, plus old TV’s and couches and the like. Occasionally movement caught his eye, but it was just stray cats slipping out of sight as soon as they noticed him.

He wandered to the end of the alley until it reached a corner, an intersection to another back alley. He paused, leaning against the wall of a building and taking a few slow drags, feeling that he’d found a sufficient place to smoke and clear his thoughts, far enough away from his building that he felt free of the place.

That was when he heard a gut-wrenching scream tear through the night, amplified by the moisture hanging heavy in the air.

It was a woman’s scream, and it came from around the corner. It sounded like nothing Frank had heard in his life. It was raw, and desperate – the sound of someone frantically crying out for help, like their life was at stake.

Frank wasn’t thinking. But his feet were moving, pulling him to the corner of the wall, pressing himself against the brick as he braced himself to look.

He heard a struggle occurring, cracks and muffled yells and a strange, frenzied growling that sounded inhuman. Frank felt his stomach twist, it sounded like someone was being attacked by an animal. In the back of his head, his brain was yelling at him to run in the opposite direction, but Frank ignored it. This person needed help. And he had to know what was happening. He simply couldn’t turn his back on whoever it was.

Frank’s heartbeat raced as he finally turned the corner, trembling as he slowly neared where he heard the noises coming from. He couldn’t see anything through the fog.

But eventually, Frank saw two figures about twenty feet ahead of him. He hesitantly took a few steps closer...

It took him a moment to comprehend what he was seeing.

At first, all he noticed was a figure hunched over something else.

Then he noticed the blood. A lot of blood. More  than he had ever seen in his life.

And then he saw the flesh, the insides of a person, strewn across the ground. When his eyes landed on the body, it was barely recognizable. Held together loosely by skin and bones.

Frank’s ears started ringing and he stumbled back a few steps, on the verge of passing out. The burning cigarette he didn’t realize he was still holding dropped from his fingers. He felt bile rising in his throat.

A low growl resonated through the air, and Frank’s eyes finally darted up to the attacker.

Frank’s heart must have stopped altogether in his chest.

_ Gerard _ .

His lip was curled up, baring rows of sharp fangs, stained red with blood. Blood was everywhere. It was splattered across his face, seeping  from his mouth and dripping from his chin, soaking through the shirt on his chest. Sharp claws were extended from his fingers, digging into the victim’s flesh.

Then there were his eyes. They were no longer their comforting hazel, but a glowing crimson red, boring into Frank’s own.

And worst of all was the complete and utter lack of recognition in those eyes. Like Frank was not his best friend anymore. Like he would end up just like torn up girl if he didn’t get away  _ now _ .

The monster growled again, like a dire warning  penetrating Frank’s soul, and that’s when Frank’s body finally kicked into action again.

He was running before he even made the decision to. His entire being fueled by panic, Frank ran faster than he had in his life. He was flying down the alleyway, feet barely touching the ground.

It was less than a minute later when Frank was shakily pulling his key from his pocket, taking a few tries to finally jab it into the lock to the side gate and then turning, pushing through, slamming the gate shut behind him and running. He reached his window, pulling it open before bounding into his room in one quick movement. Frank frantically pulled the screen on behind him and slammed the window shut, locking it  for good measure as if the glass would be enough to protect him.

Frank collapsed on his bedroom floor, panting from  exertion . He didn’t cry. He was in shock. He couldn’t comprehend what just happened, what he’d just seen. He couldn’t believe it was real.

But it  _ was  _ real. He knew what he saw. It had been just as real as the floor beneath him, as the fog hanging heavy in the night sky. He’d seen everything with his own eyes.

He saw that woman in a bloody state of gore that he would never be able to expel from his memory. And he saw... that  _ thing _ . That thing that looked exactly like Gerard, save for the fangs and claws and glowing red eyes.

Frank eventually built up the willpower to stumble out of his room and straight into the bathroom across the hallway.

His entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and Frank felt his nausea building. He turned on the shower, and quickly stripped his clothing, feeling like he was suffocating in the fabric. Disgusted by the scene he’d just faced, he stepped into the freezing water. He needed to get clean.

The water slowly warmed as Frank kneeled on the floor. In only a moment he was gagging, vomiting onto the tiles. But there wasn’t much to throw up, so it was just clear bile, and blood mixed in from his mouth, his split lip from the fight reopening. His throat was burning, and went on for minutes, Frank gasping for breath when he got the chance. He wouldn’t stop heaving until there was absolutely nothing left in his body.

Frank cleaned himself slowly, sitting on the shower floor as with no willpower to pull himself up. He then spent another 30 minutes just sitting there, his brain on overdrive. It almost felt like if he didn’t leave the shower, then none of this was real. He could just stay there forever and leave this cruel world behind.

But that wasn’t the case, unfortunately. Eventually Frank had to turn the shower off. He wrapped himself in a towel and slipped back into his room.

A million questions raced through Frank’s head as he lay in bed. He didn’t know  _ what  _ he’d just seen, and if it really was Gerard. What had happened to Gerard? Frank’s stomach sank, wondering how he’d became that horrible monster Frank saw.

But overall, it all felt too surreal to be true. Frank must be in some sick nightmare, and maybe when he woke up in the morning, it would all be over. He wouldn’t still taste the smoke of the cigarette on his tongue, and see the glazed out, lifeless eyes of the girl every time he blinked. Or the vicious, unforgiving glare of Gerard’s eyes.

Frank knocked out within minutes, his mind and body to overwhelmed to stay conscious any longer. His nightmares were filled with razor sharp fangs dripping blood, claws like daggers severing his skin, and glowing red eyes glaring down at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoooo boy shit just got real
> 
> pls comment!!!!


	5. Vampires Will Never Hurt You

Gerard way was the last person Frank wanted to see today. 

A large part of him just wanted to ditch school again as usual to avoid his problems, but something unspoken beckoned him to campus that morning. He knew that if Gerard decided to show his face today, he’d have to confront him. 

But at the same time, he was terrified. 

Currently, Frank was nearing the campus, only a block away. Frank doubted Gerard would be at school. He was partially convinced that last night was nothing but a strange nightmare, his brain's shocked reaction to Gerard’s sudden disappearance. Well, realistically, it may also have been Frank’s first psychotic break. His first ever hallucination. One step closer to a psych ward. 

This would all be fine, because in the case the night before _was_ a hallucination, that would mean it wasn’t _real_. Frank just didn’t think he was ready to accept that possibility yet. 

He felt himself trembling slightly as he took the last cautious steps across the street towards the school gate. He was only seconds away now from the moment of truth. If Gerard was there, he’d be waiting for Frank just past the entrance, as they'd gotten in the habit of doing since they became friends. 

As of now, Frank had no idea how he’d react upon seeing Gerard again. Seeing your supposed best friend murder someone in the dead of night wasn’t something you could easily just get over the next day. 

Frank took a deep breath and walked through the entrance amongst the stream of other students, flashing his student ID to the guard who waved him through. He’d only taken a few steps in before someone was gripping his wrist firmly, tugging him off to the side. 

And, just like that, Frank was face to face with the person he’d been stressing himself out over for the past twelve hours. 

“Gerard,” he whispered, shocked, before he could stop himself. 

“Frank.” 

Gerard’s eyes were brimming with emotion. Frank saw hints of regret, sadness, and shame, to name a few. But beneath it all, a certain yearning was present, as if he was begging Frank for forgiveness with his gaze alone. 

Frank froze up. He remembered those mossy green eyes shining bright red the night before. He tried to will the images away, but his efforts were futile. All he could see was the figure in the alley, covered in crimson blood, with sickening sharp fangs extended... 

“Frank, please. Stay with me, please. We’ve got to talk. Somewhere private.” Gerard begged, pulling at Frank’s wrist as the other stumbled after him in a daze. “I’ll explain everything, I promise.” 

Frank wanted to object. He wanted to run. He wanted to scream. But instead, he did nothing. He was in shock. He didn’t imagine it. What he saw was _real_. And here was Gerard, looking all normal and unquestionably human, leading Frank briskly to who knows where. All Frank could do was try to keep up and avoid tripping over his own feet. Gerard didn’t loosen his iron grip on Frank’s wrist one bit until they’d crossed to the other side of campus and turned the corner behind a building where no one could see them. 

Frank’s heart was racing in his chest, and he instinctively backed away a few steps when Gerard turned to face him again. The morning bell rang, signifying Frank was officially late for detention. Oh well. He had much greater concerns, currently. 

Gerard sighed exhaustedly, looking over Frank with a distant, saddened expression. His eyes met Frank’s own again, and it was all Frank could do not to let himself melt into them. For once, Gerard seemed at a loss for words. Like he finally didn’t know where to go from there. 

“Frank, please tell me exactly what you saw last night,” he urged quietly, once he'd decided on his approach. He looked hurt when he noticed how badly Frank was shaking, seemingly unable to bare the fact that he was scaring Frank so much. 

“You,” Frank uttered, barely over a whisper. “I-I was, um, I was j-just walking down the alley and...” He swallowed, unable to continue. 

“And?” Pressed Gerard. Frank froze as the other grabbed both of his wrists this time, rubbing his thumbs lightly along Frank’s skin in what was probably meant to be a reassuring manner. “Frank, I need to know what you-” 

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!” Frank snapped. He was instead met with Gerard’s hand clasped firmly over his mouth as he was pinned against the wall. 

“ _Shhhhhhh_ _!”_ Gerard hissed, his eyes darting back and forth . “ _You need to be quiet!”_ He whispered harshly. It took Frank a few seconds to calm down, but when he did, Gerard slowly removed his hand from his mouth. 

“You’re causing a scene,” Gerard said, still looking around to make sure no one heard. 

“You _killed_ someone!” Frank responded, just quiet enough for Gerard to allow it . “I _saw_ you! Except you were... fuck, what the fuck are you? A-and the girl...” Frank shuddered, feeling nausea rise up at the memory. “Is she... oh, god... Gee, fuck, oh fuck...” 

“Sh, sh, sh,” Gerard shushed him quietly, noticing that Frank was getting worked up. “Please, Frank, I need you to calm down.” 

“How the fuck do you expect me to be calm?” Frank was on the verge of tears. “Gerard, I s-swear to fuckin’ god, I-I saw you _kill_ someone last night, how the fuck am supposed to be calm!?” 

Gerard looked down and sighed. 

“I’ll explain everything, I told you.” Gerard said. “But I can’t do it here. I know you’re scared of me now... so we can stay in public. We just can’t be here. Let’s just go to the burger place down the street? I’ll buy you food. Come on.” 

Frank was still hesitant, but his curiosity was taking over. He knew Gerard couldn’t be trusted, but he doubted he’d try anything in the middle of a restaurant in broad daylight, at the very least. 

“I don’t need you to buy me food, I’m not a fuckin’ charity case.” Frank huffed, despite his empty stomach clawing at him from the inside. “But let’s go. Cause yeah, you’ve got a lot to fucking explain.” 

A few minutes later, the two boys were sat in the back corner of the small diner. It was relatively empty that morning, with only a few other customers sat on the other end of the store. Comfortably out of earshot, Gerard began to speak. 

“Before I explain myself, I need you to understand you can’t tell this shit to _anyone_. You already know way too much...” Gerard’s was glaring at Frank intensely. 

“Uh, yeah, okay,” Frank said, unable to help leaning in closer with intrigue. It was harder to fear Gerard when he looked so human. And Frank was dying to know what the hell was going on. 

“I might as well just get this part over with, ‘cause it’s gonna sound fuckin’ ridiculous either way,” Gerard said, before taking a deep breath and meeting Frank’s eyes. “I’m a vampire, Frank. And so’s Mikey.” 

“You’re... what?” Frank said. Even with what he saw, this sounded too absurd. There was no way any of this was actually happening. But unfortunately, the night before had been more than real. 

“Yeah, it’s true...” Gerard said wistfully after a long pause. “I know it’ll take some time for you to wrap your head around it. Days, even weeks. But I’ll try to make it easy on you.” 

Frank just sat back and nodded, as if to say, ‘ _go on_ _’._ But his mind was just a broken record of ‘ _what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the-_ _’._

_“_ Well... yeah. Mikey and I are vampires. I was turned when I was 17, and Mikey was only 14, and we’re pretty much stuck this way forever. I would say I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but clearly, I never planned on you finding out at all, of course. Apparently, God had other plans.” Gerard rolled his eyes as if this was just a mild annoyance. 

“So how old are you _really_ , then?” Frank asked, suddenly fascinated. 

Gerard blushed behind his pale skin, giggling, “Uh.... ninety-five.” 

Frank audibly gasped, before bursting out in laugher. 

“ _What_ _?_ _Ninety-five!_ Dude, you’re like, grandpa age!” 

“Shut up! I’m young in body and soul-” 

Frank seriously couldn’t stop laughing, he felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The sleep deprivation was really starting to get to him. 

He finally composed himself after a minute or so, sighing, “Sorry, I just... expected you to say you’re three hundred or some shit. I don’t know why being in your 90’s sounds even older in a way.” Frank giggled, shaking his head. 

“Ha, ha, very funny,” said Gerard. He smirked, “You know, back in the good old days, youngin’s like you respected your elders.” 

“Oh. My. God. Shut up.” Frank laughed, putting his head in his hands, “I don’t think I'll ever get used to the fact that you’re older than my grandpa. Y’know, that’s actually pretty fuckin’ weird.” 

Gerard winced, “Ouch. That stings.” 

“Aren’t you technically too old to be hanging out with me?” 

“I mean, maybe, but I really don’t know.” Gerard smiled fondly. “I’m kind of in a weird place. Since I was changed, well, I’ve been frozen this way – not just how I look, but my brain, too. It’s hard to explain. Mikey was only 14 when he became a vamp, so he has it worse. It’s like, on one hand, I don't feel much smarter than when I was human. But on the other, I’ve still been alive for much longer than you. Like, I have more experience. That’s the difference.” 

“Well, do you think you’re more like a 17-year-old, or more like a 95-year-old? That’s the important question.” Frank teased. 

“I feel like a 95-year-old 17-year-old, and that’s the truth.” 

Frank hummed, trying to let everything sink in. 

“But that’s not the important part.” He said somberly after a moment. They weren’t sitting in this diner just because Gerard was immortal. That was far from the problem. 

“We have no choice but to kill,” Gerard said, knowing exactly where Frank was going with his comment. “We need human blood to survive, and when we feed, we need a lot of it. And, most importantly, no human is supposed to know of our existence. It’s the strictest – well, the only – rule vampires have as a society. So, we have to kill whenever we feed and, well... this is why I could be in deep shit for letting you live.” Gerard shook his head. “Mikey and I aren’t the only vamps around here. And if any of the others catch wind of you knowing, well, we’ll all be fucked.” 

“What would they do?” Frank asked, although a part of him already knew the answer. 

Gerard laughed dryly, “Well, they’d kill you first, of course. And then, they’d kill me, and Mikey too, since we allowed you to keep living.” 

“Well thanks so much for ‘allowing’ me to live.” Frank replied bitterly. 

“Well... we’re morally obligated to kill you, Frank,” Gerard said bluntly. “I shouldn’t have let you leave that alleyway alive. You shouldn’t be sitting here in front of me after what you saw. But I let you live...” 

“Why?” pressed Frank, leaning in even closer. 

Gerard smiled coyly, meeting Frank’s eyes again, “I quite like you, to be honest.” 

Frank tried to ignore the spark he felt in his stomach, or the way his cheeks heated up. 

“Well, that’s comforting,” he huffed sarcastically. “Good to know you didn’t kill me because you kind of like me.” 

Gerard shrugged, “It’s the best I can do. You still owe me forever, though.” 

“What do I owe _you?”_

_“_ Your secrecy, of course,” Gerard said . “You can’t tell _anyone_ , Frank, this is serious. You can’t even joke about it, ever. Don’t even write it down anywhere.” 

“Yeah, okay, okay!” Frank said, rolling his eyes. Gerard didn’t look completely reassured, but he seemed to accept the response regardless. 

“So, other vampires in the area,” Frank continued after a beat. “Are there more at our school?” 

Gerard pursed his lips. “I can’t give away that information, you already know way too much. I can’t risk it.” 

“So that’s a yes!?” Frank couldn’t believe there could be more than _two_ vampires going to his fucking high school. 

“ _Please_ just give it a rest, I can’t have you acting all suspicious.” 

“I won’t, I promise!” said Frank, and he really meant it. Gerard just shook his head, not planning on changing his mind. 

“To get back on subject,” Gerard said, “I wanted to talk to you here for two reasons. One, to ensure you’re sworn to secrecy. Just to triple check, you do understand that if anyone at all other than Mikey or I finds out you know about vampires, we’ll all be killed, correct?” 

“Yes, I understand,” Frank droned, rolling his eyes. Gerard was acting like a nagging parent all of a sudden. 

“And you swear on your grave you’ll never tell another soul?” 

“Yeah, I swear.” 

“And you understand that if you compromise mine or my brother’s safety by running your mouth, I may have to be the one to put a stop to it?” Gerard’s gaze didn’t falter for a moment. 

“Y-yes, I understand.” Frank whispered, chills running down his arms. 

“Good.” Gerard said. “Now, for the second reason I brought you here. I guess I was just wondering, well... how do you... feel about all of this?” 

Frank suddenly broke out into full body laughter once again, at the absurdity of the question. 

“Jesus Christ, how do I _feel_? God, Gee. I feel like I’m going insane.” He said. 

Gerard remained quiet, like he was waiting for Frank to keep talking, to get it all out. So, he did. 

“I feel like I lost my best friend, and I can’t fuckin’ trust you anymore. After what I saw...” Frank shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to will the images away again, “I-I don’t know if I can ever see you the same way again. It’s like, I can’t-” Frank paused again for a moment, lost for words. “I-I can’t stop seeing it. Last night, I c-can't get it out of my head. And you, I can’t... I can’t.... look at you the same.” 

Gerard looked wounded by Frank’s confession, and Frank almost felt bad. 

“I... I understand.” Gerard said, clearing his throat. “I just want you to know, that uh... that I care about you, Frank... okay? I do... a lot more than I should, probably. I think... Well, I think I might like you more than any other human since I was changed. That rule I told you about, where humans aren’t supposed to know about us... I’ve always taken it deadly serious; we all do. No other human has ever known what I am and lived... I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, Frank. I couldn’t even force myself to hurt you. So please, know that I’ll _never_ hurt you Frank, I promise.” 

Frank nodded, taking in Gerard’s words, and rose from his seat. He picked up his backpack and turned to leave, feeling overwhelmed from the entire conversation and having no more energy for a response. He hated the way Gerard kept saying ‘ _humans_ _’,_ like they were so different than him, that they didn’t count for anything . Frank _is_ human, and for that reason he couldn’t stand to look Gerard in the eyes any longer. 

“Frank, wait,” Gerard said, standing up as well and moving to block Frank’s exit. “Please, I just need to know one more thing.” 

“What?” Frank demanded, turning to face Gerard with his arms crossed. 

Gerard’s gaze softened; his eyebrows furrowed anxiously. 

“What happened to your face?” Gerard ran his fingers lightly over Frank’s split lip, and the large bruise forming next to his eye. 

“What do you think happened?” Frank deadpanned, pushing around Gerard to storm out of the restaurant. 

“Bye, Frank,” Gerard said from behind him. But Frank was already gone. 

Walking fast along the sidewalk, Frank’s mind fought to process everything, to make sense of it. Sure, the realization Gerard may be a fucking vampire was exciting at first. But what kind of person could remain _friends_ with him after seeing that ? Gerard defended himself saying he had to kill, but that didn’t mean he had to do... _that_ . Frank still felt sick at the thought of the state of his victim’s body, all twisted and contorted and _wrong_. He knew the image would haunt him for life. He doubted he’d ever be the same. 

The most amazing person to come into Frank’s life in years, turned out to be a monster and a serial killer. Seems about right. 

Things were already fucked up enough in Frank’s life, but now they were getting way out of hand. 

The worst part was that Frank didn’t really _want_ to leave Gerard behind . As much as he was terrified of the other boy, he still had a form of morbid curiosity . He wanted to know so much more . If Gerard was 95, what year was he born in ? It took Frank a few moments to work out the math in his head . Oh. 1906. Fucking 1906 . Wasn’t that before World War _One_?? Jesus fucking Christ. 

How much had Gerard lived through? Experienced? Where was he even from? Frank doubted the Way’s would have been able to just stick around in New Jersey this whole time. If they’d really been alive for nearly a century, it's doubtful they stayed put. It’s probably best to be on the run if you’re committing countless murders. 

Frank couldn’t even begin to theorize how on earth they’d gotten enrolled in his school, when there was no way they’re even registered as citizens. And they certainly didn’t have any parents around to help with that image. If there was one positive Frank could take out of this experience, it was that Gerard’s secrecy was now easily explainable. 

And, before he could stop himself, Frank found himself wondering about the person Gerard _killed_ _._ Who was she? Did Gerard pick her for a specific reason? Frank tried to convince himself that maybe Gerard wouldn’t hurt a completely innocent person, but... another part of him was telling him to look at the obvious. It was the middle of the night, in a random alley. It just didn’t strike Frank as a planned murder. 

He was trying to ignore the voice telling him that she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Just a random person who was _convenient_ to kill. 

Frank tried not to think about how, if he'd never met Gerard before that night, he could have been that person. 

It was honestly absurd that Frank had seen Gerard kill at all, now that he thought about it. What were the chances he decided to go on a walk at night, at that time, and be close enough to hear her scream? It was like a cruel twist of fate, almost as if it was meant to be. Like Frank had to know. It was as if there was more to come, but first, Frank had to know the truth. 

He shook his head. He couldn’t entertain those thoughts. He couldn’t allow himself to be friends with Gerard anymore. As much as it hurt, he simply couldn’t. He knew it would be so hard to sit next to him in class, to see him almost every day and yet barely be able to even look at him. Gerard made Frank anxious now, there was no denying it. And Gerard would probably skip town and disappear soon enough, as suddenly as he had shown up in the first place. 

When Frank’s feet stopped moving of their own accord, he found himself standing in front of Ray’s house. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts, he barely even registered the walk, having followed the familiar route on autopilot. 

Frank’s heart sank when he realized that for once, he couldn’t tell Ray what was wrong. 

All he could do was get so high that it knocked him out immediately, and Frank was finally able to get some sleep. As he lay in Ray’s bed, about to drift off, he hoped he would be out of this nightmare when he woke up. Gerard would just be his best friend again. Frank would never have seen that what went down in the alley that night. And he’d no longer feel nauseous when he looked into the eyes of someone he used to trust with his entire being. 

Frank just wanted everything to go back to normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okayyy so this is the chill chapter i know it's not very long, mostly dialogue and stuff. but don't worry, next chapter will be Spicy, if you get what I'm saying 👀 👀


End file.
